Chapter 74

Elise had no idea what was going through either man's mind. She was simply surprised to see Julian sitting down to dinner with Mu Chuan. Her brother had disliked Mu before. Had he finally changed his mind?

Mu looked perfectly at ease, as though this were an ordinary meal.

When the food arrived, Julian put a piece of meat on Elise's plate. She was so used to it that she ate it without even looking up. The easy familiarity of the exchange made Mu glance at them, then look away.

If Julian had been anyone but her brother, Mu might have overturned the table. He recognized the unpleasant feeling for what it was: jealousy. He reminded himself that Julian was only her brother.

As if remembering that Mu was there, Julian lifted his glass. “Thank you for looking after Ellie lately, Mr. Mu.” He turned to Elise. “Ellie, thank him.”

“Oh, right. Thank you.” She saw nothing strange in the request, and she and Julian raised their glasses together.

Mu held his own glass in the air for a moment before drawing it back. The wine tasted bitter. Julian called her Ellie, and they were close enough to thank him together as if he were an outsider who could never find a place between them. Even Elise had thanked him, as though they were distant acquaintances.

Normally he kept his expression under control. Now his face darkened despite himself. He pulled up the corners of his mouth. “There's no need. Ellie and I are friends. Of course I'd look after her.”

Julian paused with his glass near his lips. His eyes passed over Mu's face, but he said nothing.

Elise had heard the nickname too. Her brothers used it, as did close friends like Jade and Nora. Coming from Mu, it suggested a certain closeness. She smiled at him, letting him know she didn't mind.

His smile widened, and his gloom vanished.

Julian stared at his sister. He knew how beautiful she was; even among the families they knew, she stood out. How could she smile so freely at a man? Frowning like an old-fashioned guardian, he decided he would have a serious talk with her when they got home.

“Speaking of looking after her,” he said with a distant smile, “you've gone to extraordinary trouble, building a skate park especially for my sister. Someone might think you had an ulterior motive.”

Both Elise and Mu stopped. Elise looked from one to the other. “Julian, you've misunderstood. The park belongs to Mu, but it had been abandoned.”

Julian ruffled her hair affectionately and glanced at Mu, who remained silent. “Renovations started last month. They used excellent materials and a great deal of labor, and finished in half a month. It's only been ready for a few days. How could it be abandoned?”

Elise bit her lip and looked at Mu. Had he and Pei joined forces to deceive her? Had he really built the park for her? What did he mean by that?

Mu set down his knife and fork, wiped his mouth, and answered calmly. “It was completed recently. We planned to open it to the public, but there were problems with some of the arrangements, so it can't open yet. Since Ellie enjoys skating, I offered her the use of it. It's simply how I treat my friends. If that gave you the wrong impression, I should have explained.”

If Elise realized he was pursuing her, she would draw a line between them immediately. She hated accepting favors and feared owing people. That was the last thing he wanted.

Elise thought it over, then nodded. Of course it must have been intended to open. The idea that Mu had built a whole park just for her was absurd.

“Is that so?” Julian said softly. He looked at Daniel, who stepped forward with a checkbook.

“The Whitmores don't like to owe favors. Ellie does enjoy skating, but we can build a park ourselves. And it would be unfortunate if word got out and people misunderstood. To avoid that, would you be willing to part with yours?”

He wrote a number with several zeroes and pushed the checkbook toward Mu. “That's my estimate. If anything, it's generous. I think you'll be satisfied.”

The smile left Mu's eyes. Julian's meaning was clear: he didn't want Elise indebted to him, and he wanted Mu to stay away from her. That was impossible.

Mu didn't look at the checkbook. “Ellie is my friend. She's welcome at the park whenever she likes. Why should friends worry about what people might think? By your reasoning, Mr. Whitmore, are you going to buy every place she visits?”

Their eyes met across the table. Neither gave way.

Elise had stopped eating. Was her brother trying to force a sale? Mu had every right to refuse. Both sides seemed to have a point. Whose side was she supposed to take?

Julian broke the silence with an unreadable smile. “I underestimated you, Mr. Mu.”

The invitation, the diamond at auction, and now the skate park: Julian had seen rich men use such gestures to pursue women often enough. He had expected Mu, proud as men in their circle tended to be, to withdraw once the Whitmores made it clear his attention was unwelcome. The Mu family stood above even the Whitmores. Surely its head wouldn't tolerate the humiliation.

Yet Mu had taken it without retreating. Julian tightened his grip on his silverware, angry in earnest now.

They dropped the subject, and the atmosphere eased. Elise let out a quiet breath. For a moment she had thought they might actually fight. Now they were treating each other politely again, and she returned to her meal.

Afterward Julian walked her to the car but made no move to get in.

“Aren't you coming home?” she asked.

He glanced at Mu, then softened his voice. “I have some business at the office. Go on ahead, and don't stay up too late studying, all right?”

“All right.” Elise waved to Mu before leaving. His expression warmed, and he smiled back.

The moment her car disappeared, both men's faces hardened. Without a word they returned to the private dining room. Neither secretary followed them inside.

As soon as the door shut, Julian seized Mu by the collar and slammed him against the wall.

“My sister isn't like the socialites you know,” he said, his usually gentle face fierce. “Put those intentions of yours away and stay away from her. Otherwise I don't mind sending you to the hospital to join your father.”

Mu barely resisted. He seemed to have expected this, though Julian's grip made it hard to breathe. “So the polished Julian Whitmore can use his fists too.”

At any other time, someone who laid a hand on him would have been hiding from him by now. Dinner had been unpleasant enough to make one thing clear: Julian mattered far more to Elise. She trusted and depended on her brother, while Mu was only a new, casual friend.

He disliked it, but Elise respected Julian, and Mu would do the same. Her elder brother was his elder brother. He had no intention of fighting back, even if Julian hit him.

A vein stood out on Julian's forehead. “Did you understand me? If you didn't, you're not leaving this room today.”

Mu gave a rueful laugh and met his eyes. “I'm twenty. There aren't any women around me. You can verify that.”

Julian narrowed his eyes. “And?”

“So this is the first time I've pursued anyone.” Mu sounded awkward for the first time. “I wouldn't have started if I hadn't thought it through and prepared to face the consequences.”

Julian's investigation supported that much. There hadn't been even a hint of romantic scandal; some people had speculated about Mu's sexuality because he had no women in his bed.

The grip on Mu's collar loosened slightly. He drew a breath. “Elise isn't someone who admires power and wealth the way those women do. She's different. I'm sincere about her. I've never been this sincere before.”

Julian's expression shifted, but a few words were not enough to convince him. Some men were skilled at saying exactly what a woman wanted to hear.

He wanted to keep his sister close for a few more years. Still, most boys and girls dated young, and it was unusual that Elise had never had a relationship. If she truly liked someone, could he really stand in her way? Her happiness mattered most. If she didn't like Mu, of course, that was another matter. He could screen the man for her, but the decision belonged to Elise.

“How can you prove it?” Julian asked.

Mu's gaze didn't waver. He voiced a decision he had already made. “If Ellie and I can be together, everything the Mu family owns will be hers, including everything in my own name. If I ever mistreat her, I'll leave with nothing.”

Julian stared at him. It was an extraordinary promise. Did Mu understand what the family fortune was worth, and was he so certain he could treat her well?

Some of the hostility left Julian's face, replaced by surprise. Then he gave a cold laugh. “If you're together? You don't even know whether she'll like you.”

He let go abruptly. Mu's shirt was crumpled, but he paid it no attention. “I'll do my best to make her like me,” he said quietly, with a bitter smile. “But if she doesn't, I won't force her. What she wants comes first.”

Julian had worried that Elise might innocently accept Mu's kindness, then reject him, and that his wounded pride would drive him to harass or even take revenge on her. From what he had seen now, Mu didn't appear to be that sort of man. He was putting Elise first.